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Warriors NRLW return, Wellington Phoenix Women signings, All Whites speculation, NZ-A Women's Cricket squad, and more
Scotty’s Word
This will be a fascinating return to NRLW for New Zealand Warriors Women. NZW are top-four in the NRL for the second of three seasons in the two Andys era and the NSW Cup team has stayed near the top of the ladder in all three seasons. Add in back to back Harold Matthews Cup championships and this is an organisation that is thriving, so I'm curious how this era of NZW mahi influences the return to NRLW.
Most of the attention is pointed at Black Ferns/Sevens players. Michaela Brake, Patricia Maliepo, Shakira Baker and Tysha Ikenasio are likely to be top-17 players for round one but counting on these players as a reason for NZWW success is not a reliable activity. The foundations are rugby league players with NRLW experience and, along with the general health of the organisation, this is one of my main reasons for optimism.
The top-17 will include Kiwi Ferns Apii Nicholls, Laishon Albert-Jones, Mya Hill-Moana and Harata Butler.
Nicholls is similar to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad so that's a good place to start. She will be an important leader thanks to her NRLW experience. She is a classy runner and her organisation and effort without the footy will drive NZWW defence.
Albert-Jones has played most of her NRLW career under coach Ronald Griffiths and won a championship in 2023. Primarily an edge forward, Albert-Jones has a background in the halves which could help her slot in as a small forward to help shift the footy.
Hill-Moana and Butler are two middle forwards from Waikato who are both Taniwharau juniors. This is notable because NZWW will play three games in Hamilton and I'm eager to see how the mana of these wahine drives the connection to their local community.
2025 New Zealand Women Warriors Signings Tracker: Patricia Maliepo Joins The Wave
They are also ruthless middle forwards who demanded NRLW opportunities from their mahi in Aotearoa. Hill-Moana is one of the biggest forwards in the league and led the NRLWahine recruitment wave when Bulldogs signed her to their U18 team in 2020 before playing NRLW for Roosters. Her mana at Taniwharau is impeccable.
Butler is more aggressive and mobile than Hill-Moana. She has been playing rugby league in Australia for 10 years and while she only started playing NRLW in 2023 with Sharks, Butler was playing for Aotearoa Maori and Kiwi Ferns in 2020. Last season she played for Cowboys and her combo with Hill-Moana will be crucial in winning the battle through the middle.
To win NRLW games though, NZWW need a reliable play-maker who can steer the team around and they have that in Aussie Emily Curtain. Most of her NRLW games were played as the halfback during her time with Eels and Tigers, so I reckon she is likely to be the halfback for NZWW.
Coach Griffiths mentioned her 'tough defensive mindset coupled with her game management' in the announcement. She is only 23-years-old but has been developed in the elite Australian pathways, having played U19s for New South Wales, plus she loves a bit of Muay Thai and was known as 'The Pitbull' during her fighting days.
The coach is another massive factor in my excitement. Griffiths coached Knights to consecutive championships and, as an Indigenous man who is a leader of his community, will drive the NZWW culture. Winning pedigree, proven builder of team cultures and a deep respect for Aotearoa can only be awesome for NZWW.
New Zealand Warriors 10 Best Emerging Youngsters From The First Half Of 2025
NZ Warriors have a bye in the NRL. The NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup teams play against Eels in Sydney so I have notes about those grades for paid subscribers and the Patreon whanau. We also chat through NZW emerging talent in our Bonus Pod which is recorded every Thursday for the generous folks funding our mahi.
Tukimihia Simpkins returns to NRL footy as he is named on the bench for Titans to play Sea Eagles. Simpkins was highly recruited coming out of Rotorua Boys High School and joined the Cowboys system before moving to Tigers where he made his NRL debut in 2021 as a middle forward.
Since then he has been battling in reserve grade. His mahi at Norths Devils saw him earn a tria deal with Dolphins for the 2023/24 summer and then he parlayed that into an opportunity with Titans via Tweed Seagulls. Simpkins has been viewed as one of the best forwards in Queensland Cup over the last two seasons and now he gets an opportunity for a Titans team that is fairly mediocre.
Glenora junior Sean Mullany is also getting a bigger opportunity for Titans thanks to a few injuries, having started at hooker in the big loss vs Broncos. Mullany rolled out 62 minutes after 15mins in his debut back in round five and while Keano Kini is still out injured, Titans have added some intriguing Kiwi-NRL juniors to join Kieran Foran.
NRLQ takes a break this weekend. All the Kiwi-NRL juniors have played two games. Dolphins are the only team with two wins, Cowboys and Broncos have a win each, Titans have lost both games.
Lukji Yloi (Waikato) has scored three tries for Titans. Kylem Vunipola (Kia Ora) started the first game on the bench and the second game on the wing for Broncos, having already been around the NRL team for a summer. There is a sneaky amount of talent coming out of the Palmerston North region as Vunipola is joined by Joseph Ratcliffe (NZW U19 fullback now playing U21s) and Ryder Crosswell played a few U19 games for Knights in the halves.
All three went to Palmerston North Boys High School.
The funkiest Kiwi-NRL junior in NRLQ though is Marley Igasan (Otumoetai). He started the first game on an edge and the second game in the middle, kicking 4/5 goals for a giggle as well. Igasan has been with Broncos since 2023 after departing Tauranga and won a Player of the Tournament award at three consecutive Aotearoa Maori national tournaments.
Igasan is the next forward in the Broncos Kiwi-NRL production line. First was Jordan Riki (Hornby) then Xavier Willison (Whatawhata) and now Igasan - none of them come from Auckland which shows the regional flavour alongside the Palmy lads.
My NZ Kiwis Top-17
Fullback: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
Wingers: Jamayne Isaako, Ronaldo Mulitalo
Centres: Matthew Timoko, Sebastian Kris
Halves: Jahrome Hughes, Dylan Brown
Middles: James Fisher-Harris, Joseph Tapine, Erin Clark
Edges: Briton Nikora, Marata Niukore
Hooker: Jeremy Marshall-King
Bench: Phoenix Crossland, Naufahu Whyte, Isaiah Papali'i, Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Injured: Keano Kini, Will Warbrick, Leo Thompson
Depth: Taine Tuaupiki, Casey McLean, Kodi Nikorima, Xavier Willison, Jacob Laban, Demitric Vaimauga
Kiwi-NRL juniors I'm tracking for Samoa and Tonga…
Samoa
Simi Sasagi: Ellerslie | edge | Raiders
Ata Mariota: Manurewa | middle | Raiders
Connelly Lemuelu: Tangaroa College | edge | Dolphins
Benaiah Ioelu: Tangaroa College | hooker | Roosters
Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana: Mangere East | edge | Knights
Tonga
Starford To'a: Mt Wellington | centre | Tigers
Leka Halasima: Mangere East | edge | Warriors
Salesi Foketi: Manurewa | middle | Roosters
Demitric Vaimauga is eligible for Samoa and Tonga, as well as Aotearoa. The Otahuhu junior could pop up in any of these squads so an open mind is required.
The New Zealand A women's cricket squad was announced on Wednesday to tour England and I have mapped out the squad for paid subscribers and the Patreon whanau. Four funky players that I'm pondering...
Jess Watkin
Despite not playing for White Ferns since 2018, Watkin has been a regular in NZ-A/NZ 11/North vs South games in recent summers. She often captains those teams and while others have been shuffled out of the wider White Ferns mix, Watkin has stayed on the fringe and I reckon this is due to her powerful batting.
Coach Ben Sawyer and the selectors appear to want this skillset. Emma McLeod and Izzy Sharp weren't called up to White Ferns purely on their weight of runs, they were promoted because of how they scored their runs. Polly Inglis and Izzy Gaze are being selected together despite both being wicket-keepers because they both score quickly. Watkin is the biggest hitter in the Aotearoa women's circuit not named Sophie Devine and she has a skillset that can add value to White Ferns.
Anna Browning & Flora Devonshire
They are packaged together because they are both excellent cricketers who, like Watkin, bowl pretty good spin. Browning is a righty who bowls off-spin and was a fabulous addition to an already strong Otago Sparks group, operating as the second best Sparks spinner behind Eden Carson.
Browning is also a really good batter who could develop into a top-order role and has impressed with her strokes down the order. CD's Devonshire is similar but she is a lefty batter and lefty spinner who has shown similar batting ability to McLeod, Sharp and Browning.
If she continues to grow as a spinner, there is scope for Devonshire to offer more to White Ferns than the other lefty spinner in Fran Jonas. Devonshire has more batting and fielding upside than Jonas while the stats suggest that she is just as good as Jonas with the ball...
(List-A | T20)
Fran Jonas: 31.44avg/4.3rpo | 23.28avg/6rpo
Flora Devonshire: 23.55avg/4.9rpo | 28.5avg/6.4rpo
Amie Hucker
Joins Auckland homies Molly Penfold and Bree Illing in the seam bowling group for this tour. Add in Josie Penfold and Auckland have had one of the fastest/bounciest bowling attacks with Hucker playing her role. Hucker has all-round potential but she will be hunting overs in this tour as she is ranked behind Penfold, Illing, Hannah Rowe and Emma Black.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
There was no Flying Kiwis roundup this week. With so many leagues having finished recently and the blokes having an international window there just wasn’t much to talk about. But that doesn’t mean there was nothing to talk about. We’ll be back on schedule next week with all the relevant chat including Ally Green scoring a spectacular goal and Jay Herdman popping up with an assist... and also an update on Shrewsbury Town recalling Max Mata which you can read right now to tide you over...
Shropshire Star: “After his spell in his homeland [Max Mata] will join up with his Shrewsbury team-mates at the end of this month when they return to their Sundorne Castle training base to begin preparations for next season. Town will be seeking to bounce back after they were relegated to League Two following a very difficult campaign.”
There you have it, Max Mata’s loan at Auckland FC has come to an end and Shrewsbury Town will be recalling him for next season. He’s still got one more year on his deal there. Could be that he ends up out on loan again, though probably not at AFC who seem likely to fill his target man striker role with an import. Before anything else, Mata will report for preseason with a chance to earn his way back in with the Shrews as they seek to bounce back from relegation to England’s League Two. The assistant coach was asked a few weeks ago about the prospect of recalling Mata (and others) now that the situation had changed and all such fringe players were offered a clean slate.
Shrewsbury assistant coach Richard O’Donnell: “Absolutely, yes. Everyone who reports in pre-season has a clean slate. So we are all moving in the right direction. It has been a difficult season for the football club. That is previous, now we are looking forward, and we want to be really positive in how we approach it. We want it to be a really positive work environment for them to come into because that is what it is - they have to come into that with a positive mindset and be prepared to take risks and embrace the challenges that we put upon them.”
Keep in mind that it was multiple managers ago that Mata got his previous chance with the club. He was signed by Matthew Taylor and got a run of starts but only provided one goal and one assist in 1036 League One minutes. Then Taylor got dumped and was replaced by Paul Hurst, who saw no use for Mata at all, therefore he was loaned back to Sligo Rovers. Hurst only lasted a couple months into the following season (by which time Mata was at Auckland FC) before Gareth Ainsworth took his job. Ainsworth then got flicked with the team on track for relegation and Michael Appleton hired to deal with that eventuality. So a clean slate is only fair.
One of the obvious things to ponder since the All Whites qualified for the World Cup is how the squad is going to shape up. Darren Bazeley has a very stable group with only a few spots still unsettled. The third-choice goalkeeper just changed from Oli Sail to Nik Tzanev but nobody other than Max Crocombe or Alex Paulsen has started a game for NZ since 2023. In the absence of Tim Payne (and Storm Roux, though he’s not nearly as comfortable), Bill Tuiloma and Callan Elliot got minutes at right-back at the Canadian Shield Tournament... with Tyler Bindon also giving an alright account of himself out of position there in the second game. Could be that they don’t even need a back-up RB behind Payne if Bazeley is happy using Bindon as his emergency option given that he’s got Michael Boxall, Finn Surman, Nando Pijnaker, and Tommy Smith around as centre-backs.
Then again, is that too many CBs? Even with Bindon playing on the right in one game, there were no minutes for either Pijnaker or Smith. Smithy’s there for his off-field influence more than anything but if, say, Ryan Thomas (or alternatively some sudden breakthrough youngster) becomes available then would that automatic Smithy spot still be justifiable? Similar goes with Kosta Barbarouses and Ben Waine each getting starts in the absence of Chris Wood. That’s with Max Mata out injured.
Bazeley did all his expanding and experimenting over the past 12-18 months so what we’ve got now is likely what we’ll see at the World Cup with the possible exceptions of those couple of slippery depth spots. Except that I notice there are whispers of FIFA potentially allowing 26-man squads instead of 23-man squads. That was how they did it last time but that was at the tail-end of covid for a mid-season tournament held in Qatar so injuries/unavailabilities were more likely. The Women’s World Cup in Australia and Aotearoa went back to 23-player squads despite pleas for the alternative. There’s been no announcement yet for 2026 with whispers suggesting they may opt for the larger pools.
In which case, Tommy Smith and Ben Waine can sleep a lot easier since that would pretty much nail them down in the group. Thus the question then becomes: which other three players would benefit from the extra spots?
Ryan Thomas is an automatic assuming he’s fit and available. He hasn’t played for NZ since 2019 amidst all his knee injuries (three-season ending knee surgeries before the age of 30 is pretty nasty) but there’s hope he might be reintegrated later in the year. Logan Rogerson was the harshest cut for the latest squad, missing out as Ben Old became available again. Rogerson’s pace and energy on the right wing makes him a different option to most of our wide players who like to cut infield. And then... probably another attacking player (where we do have a couple of injury-prone fellows). Max Mata would be the guy at this moment in time but after another cycle around the sun that could be anyone from Jesse Randall to Moses Dyer to Andre de Jong to Luke Brooke-Smith or beyond.
Potential All Whites 2026 World Cup Squad
GK: Max Crocombe, Alex Paulsen, Nik Tzanev
DEF: Liberato Cacace, Tyler Bindon, Finn Surman, Michael Boxall, Tim Payne, Nando Pijnaker, Francis De Vries, Storm Roux, Tommy Smith
MID: Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic, Alex Rufer, Matt Garbett, Ryan Thomas
FWD: Chris Wood, Callum McCowatt, Elijah Just, Sarpreet Singh, Ben Old, Kosta Barbarouses, Ben Waine, Logan Rogerson, Max Mata
You remember last week’s thing about how the Zico Coronel coached and Isaac Fotu starring Utsunomiya Brex won the Japanese league, making for a beautiful and fitting tribute to Kevin Braswell who had been coaching the team until his tragic passing. Well, no sooner was that done than they popped over to the UAE for the Basketball Champions League Asia. And in doing so, they needed a little extra help so they’ve signed Finn Delany on a short term deal, adding to the kiwi funk in the team.
Brex lost 97-86 to Meralco Bolts (Philippines) in their first game with a poor second quarter digging them into a hole that they couldn’t climb out of. But there were some decent efforts from the NZers in there with Fotu scoring 20 points (7/11 FG) with 6 rebounds, while Delany debuted with 14 points and 6 rebounds albeit also getting himself into foul trouble.
They bounced back with a 105–99 against Shabab Al Ahli (UAE, hosts) to ensure safe passage into the knockouts. There it was 18 points (8/11 FG) with 14 rebounds and 2 assists for Fotu. And it was 17 points (7/10 FG) with 5 rebounds for Delany. Nicely done.
Then just this morning came the quarter-finals, where Utsonomiya Brex played out a double-overtime thriller against Tabiat (Iran) before ultimately progressing with a 94-93 victory. DJ Newbill was the big man with 26 points and 10 assists, the former Breakers import, while Fotu and Delany also hit double figures yet again. Fotu with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Delany with 15 points and 4 rebounds. Delaney’s been fouling at a high rate in all of these games – with the equal most personal fouls across the whole tournament after three games (14) – but he’s scoring efficiently while he’s out there despite being the new fella in the squad. Meanwhile, Fotu’s just doing what he always does.
Brex will face Ulaanbaatar Xac Broncos (Mongolia) in the semis after they beat Meralco Bolts. The other semi-final is Shabab Al Ahli (UAE) vs Al Riyadi (Lebanon). There’s then a FIBA Intercontinental Cup thingamajig that the winners qualify for later in the year. That’ll feature six teams including the Illawarra Hawks and an NBA G-League representative.
Finn Delany is filling in time before he joins Melbourne United for the next NBL season. The latest rumour is that Yanni Wetzell is a high target for Perth Wildcats so we’ll see if that’s got any truth to it or not.
The Wellington Phoenix Women have made two statement import signings this week, first poaching Dominican Republic wide player Lucía León from Adelaide United (a rare instance of the Nix signing someone else’s import rather than the other way around), and then today announcing American defender Ellie Walker.
León primarily plays as a right-sided defender although she has the skills to play further forward if asked (last season she was used as a wing-back). Bit of 1v1 flair, plenty of speed. She was born in Spain to Dominican parents and moved to England in her mid-teens where she joined the Tottenham Hotspur system... eventually playing 12 times for the Spurs in the WSL where she was a teammate of Ria Percival’s. León also had a year with Real Betis in the top Spanish league and last season she played 23 games with 5 goals and 3 assists for Adelaide United. Two of those goals came in a 3-1 win against the Wellington Phoenix at Porirua Park in March. LL captains the Dominican Republic national team and is 27 years old (which would have made her the third-oldest player in last season’s squad).
Walker hasn’t played in the A-League before but the 26yo central defender (its her birthday today) spent five years at Portland University before moving to Portugal after graduating. Two years with SCU Torreense were followed by a switch to SC Braga where she was a first eleven player last season as Braga finished third in the division behind the powerhouses of Benfica and Sporting. That was good enough for Champions League qualifiers, though Walker won’t be hanging around for those. At 5’11 she’ll bring some size to the defence while interim coach Amy Shepherd also touted her ball-playing abilities from the back. Having someone who can win defensive headers and also challenge on attacking corners has been a major gap since Marisa van der Meer got injured.
We’re still waiting for the inevitable announcement of Bev “The Drone Lady” Priestman as the next coach, just gotta see out the last month of her suspension first. So don’t stress about them signing players with that position vacant. These two signings add some proven mettle to a squad that’s mostly just academy graduates at the moment. They’re also both imports so at least two out of Carolina Vilão, Alivia Kelly, Maya McCutcheon, Mebae Tanaka, and Olivia Fergusson won’t be returning.
Contracted Wellington Phoenix Players for ALW 2025-26:
Lucía León (I), Ellie Walker (I), Lara Wall, Manaia Elliott, Alyssa Whinham, Olivia Ingham, Daisy Brazendale, Ella McMillan (S), Ella McCann (S), Ela Jerez (S), and Aimee Danieli (S)
Also, if you’re wondering how Alyssa Whinham went for Sydney Olympic last week, they won again beating Gladesville Ravens 3-0 and yes of course Whinham scored one of the goals. That brings her to six goals in three appearances for the NPL side (seven if you count the deflected one that got classed as an own goal). She’s only scored 3 goals in 60 games at A-League level so here’s hoping this is a portent of things to come. I’ll have a little more on Welly Nix ALW depth beyond the paywall, as well as some Auckland FC Reserves signings.
Musical Jam...